The Turkish authorities demand the agreement on 10.25% gas discount from Russia and only after that they will start talks on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline construction, RIA Novosti reported quoting Ali Reza Alaboyun, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of the Turkish interim government, as saying.
“The issue of the 10.25% gas discount has been discussed by the sides orally, but there has been no verbal agreement. We do not think this is right. Russia should have offered us discount without any preliminary conditions. Meanwhile, it has laid the condition that the discount will be offered as soon as the gas pipeline construction starts,” he said.
He added that Russia first offers to start construction and then it is going to offer a gas discount. The Turkish side considers such conditions unacceptable.
“The detailed discussion of the project and the plan of its implementation could start as soon as the agreement on the gas discount is achieved,” Alaboyun said.
Earlier Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russian Gasprom and Turkish Botas company have reached the agreement on the gas discount.
